Bulletproof
by dianezane
Summary: Diane was always known to be indecisive. From her choice of boyfriends, to moving from one place to the other – she always lived for surprises. The only thing constant was the care she felt for her childhood friend, Rick Grimes. Just as she finally decided to come back home, home turned out to be a surprise she was not going to be happy about at all. Rick/OC


**Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead.  
**

**Few stories with Rick/OC and because he's always been my favorite, I figured I'd write this. It's been long inside my head and I'm happy to finally share it with others. Enjoy.**

**Chapter 1**

She unfastened the zipper of her jacket and tossed them on the bed, her arms sore from lifting the heavy boxes containing her.. what, really? _Her life _would make her seem irresponsible, but that was the best description for it.

5 heavy boxes contained her life and it was scattered all around her bedroom floor.

Moving away wasn't something new to her, in fact since high school graduation, she has moved from Georgia to other states, other countries and even halfway across the globe trying to _find out who she really was_. It wasn't like she was troubled or anything, but Diane always felt uneasy about things. She never wanted to be tied down, restrained or in her words, _boring. _Moving away to a new city gave her a sense of excitement; unfortunately, it was the kind that eventually wore out as time went by.

Now, ten years after, she's back in her hometown of King County, Georgia, and back to where it all started. After her parents moved to a new home they had in Florida, they left their old home to the youngest and only unmarried member of the family. Seeing her life in Atlanta was growing stale and her willpower growing weaker, Diane resigned from her writing job and moved back to her home, atleast, for the time being.

She looked outside the window and saw the familiar road, with slightly unfamiliar people. Being home after having considered a lot of places as home felt alien to her. The weather was perfect and she could see children playing in the front yard of her neighbor's house, The Palmer's house, if she remembers it correctly.

Just as she was about to back away from the window, she saw a police car pull up in front of her house. Immediately, a smile escaped her lips because she knew who was inside that car.

It didn't take a minute before the doorbell rung and she ran downstairs, excitement coursing through her. She smiled as she opened the front door.

"Rick!"

The man before her looked nothing like the old boy she remembers. In front of her now stood a sheriff's deputy in uniform, complete with a gun and a hat. When he removed it, that was when she saw the familiar things about him – his wavy dark brown hair, his caring blue eyes and the same playful grin she had known before were all there and it greeted her with a certain warmth that only old friends would share with one another.

"I can't believe my eyes." He said in the same country accent she'd desperately tried to get rid of. "It's really you."

"In the flesh." She returned his smile with equal enthusiasm. "Come on in!"

He stepped inside the house and moved comfortably to the direction of the kitchen, seemingly at ease as he followed Diane and knew what she was going to offer.

"No beer around here. Wine?" She asked as she rummaged through the drawers, not looking at him.

"Sure." He nodded even if her back was turned to him. He couldn't believe he was really seeing her then, and could only watch as Diane struggled to find a bottle of something to drink.

"Last drawer, bottom left." He told her and she followed, only to discover a couple of wine bottles stacked there.

"How'd you know?" She turned and asked.

"Came around to visit your parents every once in a while." He said in a matter-of-factly tone. "Always saw your momma get wine from there."

She laughed and picked out a random bottle of red wine and placed it on top of the table in front of them. She stared at him for a moment, both just at a loss for words, before she ran and gave him a hug.

"God, Rick. It's been a while." She said in between breaths. "It's so good to see you."

He wrapped her in an embrace, his arms surrounding her curvy frame. Her hair smelled like strawberries and he breathe it in, as if not wanting to believe she was really just right there.

"Welcome back, Diane." Was all he said, but the tight grip of his hug showed that he was happy about it.

After a few seconds, she finally let go and asked him to sit down.

"How are you?" She smiled at him. "You look so..different."

"Nah, I'm pretty much the same." He said as he took the wine bottle and started opening it.

"Are you the badass sheriff now? Gunning down all the criminals of King County?" She said in an almost mocking voice, teasing him. He sensed it and he winked in response.

"Yep, that's me. Cleaning up the town, kapow." He poured wine on both their glasses as he laughed.

"It's so weird, seeing you here." He told her as she sat adjacent to him by the kitchen counter. "I was just used to the random postcards, phone calls out of nowhere and stories from your family. I never thought I'd see ya back here again, to be honest."

"Well, neither did I." She admitted, awkwardly moving her long brown hair to one side of her face as she always did when she was embarrassed.

"What happened?"

"Nothing." She was quick to reply. "Life happened, I guess. I'm here now and that's what's important, right?"

He nodded, but she wasn't sure if it was in agreement or in doubt. "But for how long?"

"Till I figure things out." She replied vaguely, taking a sip of the wine that was unfortunately too bitter for her liking.

Rick did the same and they both laughed as he fought the bitterness by keeping a straight face.

"It's just that, everyone I know is settled down already." She said as his eyes met hers in almost understanding. "Everyone's getting married, living a normal life. I must admit, my life is.. was fun, but we're not getting any younger, Rick.."

He nodded. "Well, it's never going to be easy."

"Oh, C'mon. You have Lori and Carl, Rick. You have a family and they have you, love you unconditionally." She watched as he tensed at the mention of his wife and child and Diane couldn't help but wonder if she crossed a line. "Is everything okay? How's Carl? I haven't seen him since he was a small baby.."

"Yeah, it's great." He gave a small smile. "Carl's great, he's doing good in school, making new friends. He'd be happy to see you, especially after the gift you sent him last Christmas. He wouldn't let the toy down for a second, you can imagine how frustrated that made Lori."

"And how is she?"

He looked at Diane and gave a weak, almost unrecognizable smile. "She's doing okay, busy with stuff at home. But she's fine."

She took his hand and gave it a small squeeze. "Rick, are you sure everything's okay?"

He nodded and squeezed her hand in return. "Yes, I'm okay. And I still can't believe I'm seeing you like this after so many years. Where are the chubby cheeks and love handles I used to love pinching? You gave them away!"

They both started laughing and Diane almost tripped the wine over when Rick started to pinch her cheeks playfully, something they would do as kids before their parents scolded them for their behavior.

They were both exhausted from running around, a couple of times around the table, by the time they sat back down on the chairs. Their laughter echoing through the empty house, giving it life like they did back in the day.

"Look, I just took a break from duty." Rick said after regaining his breath. "I came here as soon as I was sure you arrived. How about we schedule something sometime soon? Dinner at my house, probably?"

"I'd love that." She beamed in response as she took his sheriff hat from the table and handed it to him.

"Shane would be glad to see you too." Rick winked as Diane rolled her eyes at him in return. "Maybe this Friday?"

"Yeah, okay."

They held each other as they walked back to the door, as if one would magically disappear if they let go. Rick held her waist gently before pulling away and facing her, wearing his hat back on his head as he smiled.

"Go get 'em, sheriff." She teased as she opened the door and let him out.

"Thank you, ma'am." She nodded his hat to her direction. "I'll see ya 'round."

With that, he sprinted back to his car and drove off, leaving Diane with that familiar feeling she'd almost forgotten existed.

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**(New story, new account - Rates and reviews will be appreciated. Update soon! - D)**


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